Coast Guard officer drugged and raped in 2011

I served in the Coast Guard for over six years where I met the most amazing woman that a man can ask for. She was an officer and I was enlisted. To make things easier for our relationship to last I chose to leave the Coast Guard and she stayed. We got married as soon as I left the service.

Earlier this year a LCDR put a roofie in her pop and raped her. When she woke up from being unconscious she immediately went to the hospital and they gathered forensic evidence off from her. She reported it to a Lt. who in turn told her to keep quiet about it or else she’ll be charged under Article 134-Adultry.

She reported what the Lt. told her and the rape to another Lt. that backed up the first Lt. and also added that she could be charged for using a controlled substance. They have been using the entire rape kit against her. The rape kit that she had at the hospital can only prove that she had drugs in her system and that sexual intercourse occurred. It does not prove that the sexual intercourse was consensual. It is up to the survivor to prove that the sex was not consensual not for the perpetrator to prove that he had consent.

My wife wakes up every night since the rape with nightmares. She has problems at work and in our relationship. She goes into angry outburst with strangers in public that cause us to argue non-stop when she is screaming at strangers for getting in her way. Her road rage scares me so much that I drive her to work each day. She punches the walls. She breaks down in tears and curls herself up in a ball. I love her but I feel so powerless at times. She does not want to receive counseling because it’ll affect her security clearance. I told her that her career is pretty much over and to just accept it and get help but she refuses.

She never had the opportunity to report it and was threatened when she tried to report it to the appropriate people. She no longer trusts the Coast Guard. At work those who found out have called her a ‘drama queen’ and ‘emotionally unstable.’ A Commander called her ‘psycho bitch that is looking for a handout’ and promises her that when she leaves the Coast Guard that her record would show how screw up that she is that she won’t be able to compensate for this through the VA. This Commander is a friend of the Lt Commander.

I heard that the United States Coast Guard is by far the worst when it comes to stuff like this but I never believed it until it happened to us.

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6 thoughts on “Coast Guard officer drugged and raped in 2011”

I believe her. I think that she needs to leave the Coast Guard to get better. As long as she continues to be called names for reporting a rape she is not going to get better. The Coast Guard has by far the worst control of their rape epidemic. I hear horror stories about the Coast Guard and it is only getting worse. My good friend was raped in 2006 and it was bad enough what she went through but stories coming out from after 2006 are like worst than ever. I do not know many women in the Coast Guard that report rape and actually had an investigation done. Even those who want to choose unrestricted reporting are forced into silence.

My best advice to you and your wife is to get you both into counseling. I never served but my partner did and was raped in the Air Force. She now works with rape survivors full time. Her PTSD does affect our relationship and it does affect you as an individual trying to help her and feel powerless at times. I know cause I felt the same way. You have to accept that you are not going to solve all of her problems and at times she just wants a shoulder to cry on or maybe other times the best thing you can do is give her her space.

I recommend that she does not get counseling through the Coast Guard route. She should talk to Panayiota (panayiota@stopmilitaryrape.org) and get a referral through her or go to a Vet Center near you (http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/). Either way it’ll be confidential and won’t show up in her CG records. It’ll also leave a paper trail incase they stoop so low and try to make it difficult for her to apply for VA benefits.

The Coast Guard thinks that rape is a joke. A few posts away there is one from a public affairs officer claiming that they knew of all this cover up of rape and sexual hazing and the Coast Guard does not even want to investigate that. Sick.

Anyway this website gets like over 10,000 unique readers a day (not sure if that is good or not in the cyber world) but to me 10,000+ people reading this and talking about this is and could make a difference.

This is so sad and yet so typical. I was sexually assaulted by an Army doctor during what was supposed to be a routine exam. I reported it. He walked away, as far as I know, free and clear. That was in the early 1980’s. I still suffer from it. In the late 1970’s, I was assaulted, harassed to the point where I spent all my time overseas drunk and suicidal. I reported the assault. I reported the sexual harassment. No one in my chain of command cared. Nothing was done about it. Thirty years later, I still suffer.

Your wife needs to keep detailed notes of everything that happened. Most importantly, she needs to make sure she has a complete copy of her medical records BEFORE she gets out of the USCG. Records have a way of disappearing. Tell her to make sure she has the names of every person who has threatened her. Those will be important in the future. Those idiots who are threatening her future don’t know what they are talking about.

The VA is so used to command screwing up records that they now know what to look for in that a rape was covered up. Things like personality disorders or adjustment disorders now raise a red flag in the VA and 10 years ago may have denied you benefits now makes it easier for a survivor to get benefits. Contact your Congress people, get them involved. Also get her counseling.

The Coast Guard is notorious for covering up rape within the ranks. As long as it does not reach CGIS or headquarters they do not have to report it in their annual reports. In the eyes of the Coast Guard your wife’s rape never happened and if it did it was never reported. Those in command have an invested interest in making sure that a rape does not happen under their command–and in the case of high to mid ranking officers a lot of people have to answer on why this man who is accused of rape was able to make it up the rank. I am assuming that your wife is probably a jg or ensign .

Disturbing but not surprised. The way the Coast Guard set up their sexual assault reporting is bound to cause situations such as this. One has to report it either to their command that most often than not have ZERO special training on how to work with a sexual assault survivor or with a so-called SARC who is appointed by the Coast Guard and everyone knows that the only reason somebody sees a SARC is because they been victimized. So want to tell everyone that you work with that you been raped? Just let them see you walk into the SARC office. Not the brightest or most victim-sensitive method on doing so.

CGIS, Chaplains and even the Sexual Assault Program Coordinator are notorious for not returning phone calls from survivors. I know because I am a survivor that tried endlessly to get help from them when my command laughed me into silence.

When I reported my FIRST assault (I was Army), my command told me they couldn’t help me because my assailant wasn’t in the same command as I was. It didn’t matter that he was another Soldier who was stationed on the same base. I had his name and his unit. How hard would it have been for them to pick up the phone and notify his unit? My Chain of Command turned their back on me. They told me to report it to the “UP’s … who at that time were “gate guards”. Soldiers assigned to the front gate on 90 day temporary assignments. They did apprehend my assailant but to my knowledge, nothing happened to him as far as UCMJ action goes. I was never called in to testify at a court martial or anything of the sort. In my opinion he got off scott free. He was an NCO and I was a Private.

Same thing with my SECOND assault. I reported it. Nothing happened. No court martial. He was moved to another command. Done deal. He was a Captain/O-3 and I was a Sergeant/E5.

“CGIS, Chaplains and even the Sexual Assault Program Coordinator are notorious for not returning phone calls from survivors. I know because I am a survivor that tried endlessly to get help from them when my command laughed me into silence.”

these are the folks who are guarding our Coast or we are suppose to call if we are in distress out at sea? sick